I fixed Chapter two...it's a little more readable now...to me, anyway, LOL.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The One With The Bachelor Party, Part Three
"Never Tear Us Apart"
Ross sat on the airplane, staring blankly at the snow-white puffs of clouds that surrounded them. He was very happy to be getting back, but the knot that had formed in his stomach had tightened with each passing hour. He was dreading, more than anything else, the look on Monica's face when she realized that Chandler wasn't with them. He silently wondered if there was anything that he and Joey could have done to help their best friend. He felt tears sting his eyes, and he closed them tightly, trying desperately to block out the pain. He and Joey had not called the girls, partly because they wanted to surprise them, but mostly because they wanted to put off telling them about Chandler as long as possible. Ross looked at Joey, who was sleeping uncomfortably in the seat next to him. He could tell that Joey was dreaming, and that his dream was disturbing. Ross realized for the first time just how different Joey looked. He was much thinner, and lines under his eyes and around his mouth made him seem much older than his years. Ross wondered if he looked as different. He sighed, and peered back out the window, concentrating on the fact that he would soon be home.
***
Monica, Rachel and Phoebe sat in Monica and Chandler's living room, silently flipping through Monica's photo albums. They found a strange comfort in the ritual, as if looking at photos of their friends would somehow bring them back.
With each passing day, the women lost more hope that they would ever see Ross, Joey and Chandler again.
They had not heard from the Embassy since they had found and shipped back the luggage that they had found in a hotel in Bangkok. Monica had a feeling that they had given up on the men, and just didn't want to tell them.
Suddenly, the door opened, and two familiar figures appeared.
The girls screamed, and practially attacked Ross and Joey. The fact that they were thin, sicky, and ragged did not phase them. All that mattered was that they were home. Monica pulled away from her brother, and asked the question that Ross had been dreading for two days.
"Ross, where's Chandler?"
Ross sighed, and pulled away from Monica. He wasn't sure he could do this, but he knew that he had to.
"Mon, he...um, they separated us."
"They separated you? Is he on another flight?" Monica asked, confused.
"No, they seperated us when they took us...um..."
"Took you where? Ross, where is he?" Monica was growing slightly panicked. Ross wouldn't look at her, and neither would Joey.
"They killed him," Ross finally choked out.
"What? Wh-Who?"
"The men who took us. Mon, I am so sorry," Ross was crying now, and reached out to Monica, who was in shock.
Monica pulled away from Ross, as though it was his fault that Chandler was dead. She shook her head violently, refusing to believe that what he was saying was true.
"No! This isn't happening," Monica muttered, as she backed into the wooden beam that stood between her kitchen and living room. She began shaking, then sobbing uncontrollably. All of the tension and anxiety she had been feeling had melted into shock, andger and disbelief. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be.
Ross was crying, partly for their loss, and partly because Monica was so upset. He knew that she wasn't really mad at him for Chandler's death-she was mad at him for telling her. The shoot-the-messenger syndrome. Ross felt his heart
break with every passing moment. There was nothing anyone could do for Monica now. She was devastated, and it
was much, much worse that he could have ever imagined.
***
~Two Years Later~
Monica walked home from the lunch shift at the restaurant slowly. She wanted to take full advantage of how beautiful the day was. She took a deep breath, and briefly closed her eyes. She opened them just in time to see that she was about to run head-first into someone.
"Oh! Sorry!" Monica said sincerely.
"It's alright...Monica?"
Monica looked up, and found herself standing face to face with a familiar face.
"Pete, hi!" she said, hugging him quickly.
"How are you?" Pete asked, kissing Monica on the cheek.
"Good, er, okay," Monica said quickly.
"Hey, you wanna catch some lunch? I know a great Mexican place near here..."
"Okay...wait, it's not IN Mexico is it?"
"No, it's just down the street," Pete laughed.
Monica and Pete walked to the restaurant, and sat at a small, corner table. Pete told Monica about his latest adventures and investments, and Monica told Pete about Chandler. Pete was shocked, and saddened by the news, and offered his sympathy to Monica.
"How long ago was this?"
"Two years ago," Monica whispered.
"Wow.
"Yeah. My friends keep trying to set me up with losers. They think that I need to start moving on."
"It's not a bad idea. Look, Mon, two years is a long time. No one is saying that you have to replace what you had with Chandler, but don't you think that he would want you to be happy?"
Monica nodded, but didn't say anything. She felt a lump form in her throat, and knew that tears would follow shortly.
"Mon, can I tell you something?"
"Sure."
"I never got over you. You have always been that one love that got away."
Monica looked up, slightly shocked.
"I was a total idiot. And I was hoping that maybe...you'd give me a chance to try to make you at least a little happy again."
Monica smiled at the sweet gesture. She wasn't sure that Pete was what she wanted, but she had to admire his tenacity. Pete took the smile as a good sign, and took Monica's hand. He knew that she was in a fragile state, but he made a vow to himself, and to Chandler, that he would do whatever it took to make her happy.
***
"So, Monica I was thinking that we should start thinking about children soon. I know, I know, it's the last thing you were expecting from me, but come on, we've been married for what, 3 years? I think it's time we think about stuff like that."
Chandler stared at the blank wall, and continued the one-sided conversation.
"Well, I mean, we can start tonight. Everyone else is gonna be gone...whatdyasay?"
Chandler sat in the small, cold room, awaiting an answer that would never come. He spent hours upon hours alone, and had resorted to talking to a Monica that existed in his head alone. All he wanted was to hold her, to touch her, to see her once more. In his head, she looked exactly the same as she did the day he left her. In his mind, she was his forever, and no amount of torture, beating and imprisonment could take that away. She was his forever.
His fantasy was interrupted by the sounds of gunfire coming from outside. Chandler pulled himself into the corner of his room, and hugged his knees. He wondered what was going on, and whether he would make it through the night alive. The gunshots grew louder, and a set of rapid-fire was followed by a loud explosion. The room around Chandler shook, and the walls began to crumble. Chandler covered his head with his arms, and curled further into the corner.
Suddenly, and without warning, the walls crumbled, and everything went black.
***
"You guys have only been dating, like a month!" Ross protested loudly.
"It's not like we are total strangers," Monica said calmly. She had just informed her friends that she and Pete would be getting married in Las Vegas in one week, and that they were all invited.
"Well, I think it's great, Mon," Rachel said, trying desperately to be encouraging.
"Thank you, Rachel," Monica said, and sat back and watched, amused, as Rachel and Ross proceeded to argue over what was best for Monica. She sighed heavily. Pete's proposal was out of the blue, and Monica surprised even herself by accepting the proposal. Eloping in Vegas was her idea. She had spent a year planning an elaborate wedding after Chandler had proposed, and she knew that she just could not do that again. She looked at the large diamond ring that sat on her finger. It was beautiful, but in Monica's mind it was nowhere near as beautiful as the one that Chandler had given her. She remembered the day that she had taken off Chandler's ring. She had cried for hours, knowing that it was one of the final steps toward the closure that her therapist had insisted that she'd needed.
Her visit to her therapist has since been cut from three times a week to once a month. She smiled, when she thought about how her therapist was going to reel at the news that she was getting married. She certainly hoped that Chandler would have approved. Monica sighed. She knew that she had to move on, and that marrying Pete was a step toward that. But her heart belonged to Chandler, and it always would. She often woke up in the middle of the night, convinced that she could hear his voice. Pete was always very understanding, but she never told him much about her nightmares, nor did she tell him just how much she still thought about Chandler. She would sometimes find herself talking to him, half-expecting an answer. Did that mean she was crazy? Maybe. But she didn't care. Holding onto her memories, was all she had of Chandler.
And in her heart, she would never let them, or him, go.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The One With The Bachelor Party, Part Three
"Never Tear Us Apart"
Ross sat on the airplane, staring blankly at the snow-white puffs of clouds that surrounded them. He was very happy to be getting back, but the knot that had formed in his stomach had tightened with each passing hour. He was dreading, more than anything else, the look on Monica's face when she realized that Chandler wasn't with them. He silently wondered if there was anything that he and Joey could have done to help their best friend. He felt tears sting his eyes, and he closed them tightly, trying desperately to block out the pain. He and Joey had not called the girls, partly because they wanted to surprise them, but mostly because they wanted to put off telling them about Chandler as long as possible. Ross looked at Joey, who was sleeping uncomfortably in the seat next to him. He could tell that Joey was dreaming, and that his dream was disturbing. Ross realized for the first time just how different Joey looked. He was much thinner, and lines under his eyes and around his mouth made him seem much older than his years. Ross wondered if he looked as different. He sighed, and peered back out the window, concentrating on the fact that he would soon be home.
***
Monica, Rachel and Phoebe sat in Monica and Chandler's living room, silently flipping through Monica's photo albums. They found a strange comfort in the ritual, as if looking at photos of their friends would somehow bring them back.
With each passing day, the women lost more hope that they would ever see Ross, Joey and Chandler again.
They had not heard from the Embassy since they had found and shipped back the luggage that they had found in a hotel in Bangkok. Monica had a feeling that they had given up on the men, and just didn't want to tell them.
Suddenly, the door opened, and two familiar figures appeared.
The girls screamed, and practially attacked Ross and Joey. The fact that they were thin, sicky, and ragged did not phase them. All that mattered was that they were home. Monica pulled away from her brother, and asked the question that Ross had been dreading for two days.
"Ross, where's Chandler?"
Ross sighed, and pulled away from Monica. He wasn't sure he could do this, but he knew that he had to.
"Mon, he...um, they separated us."
"They separated you? Is he on another flight?" Monica asked, confused.
"No, they seperated us when they took us...um..."
"Took you where? Ross, where is he?" Monica was growing slightly panicked. Ross wouldn't look at her, and neither would Joey.
"They killed him," Ross finally choked out.
"What? Wh-Who?"
"The men who took us. Mon, I am so sorry," Ross was crying now, and reached out to Monica, who was in shock.
Monica pulled away from Ross, as though it was his fault that Chandler was dead. She shook her head violently, refusing to believe that what he was saying was true.
"No! This isn't happening," Monica muttered, as she backed into the wooden beam that stood between her kitchen and living room. She began shaking, then sobbing uncontrollably. All of the tension and anxiety she had been feeling had melted into shock, andger and disbelief. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be.
Ross was crying, partly for their loss, and partly because Monica was so upset. He knew that she wasn't really mad at him for Chandler's death-she was mad at him for telling her. The shoot-the-messenger syndrome. Ross felt his heart
break with every passing moment. There was nothing anyone could do for Monica now. She was devastated, and it
was much, much worse that he could have ever imagined.
***
~Two Years Later~
Monica walked home from the lunch shift at the restaurant slowly. She wanted to take full advantage of how beautiful the day was. She took a deep breath, and briefly closed her eyes. She opened them just in time to see that she was about to run head-first into someone.
"Oh! Sorry!" Monica said sincerely.
"It's alright...Monica?"
Monica looked up, and found herself standing face to face with a familiar face.
"Pete, hi!" she said, hugging him quickly.
"How are you?" Pete asked, kissing Monica on the cheek.
"Good, er, okay," Monica said quickly.
"Hey, you wanna catch some lunch? I know a great Mexican place near here..."
"Okay...wait, it's not IN Mexico is it?"
"No, it's just down the street," Pete laughed.
Monica and Pete walked to the restaurant, and sat at a small, corner table. Pete told Monica about his latest adventures and investments, and Monica told Pete about Chandler. Pete was shocked, and saddened by the news, and offered his sympathy to Monica.
"How long ago was this?"
"Two years ago," Monica whispered.
"Wow.
"Yeah. My friends keep trying to set me up with losers. They think that I need to start moving on."
"It's not a bad idea. Look, Mon, two years is a long time. No one is saying that you have to replace what you had with Chandler, but don't you think that he would want you to be happy?"
Monica nodded, but didn't say anything. She felt a lump form in her throat, and knew that tears would follow shortly.
"Mon, can I tell you something?"
"Sure."
"I never got over you. You have always been that one love that got away."
Monica looked up, slightly shocked.
"I was a total idiot. And I was hoping that maybe...you'd give me a chance to try to make you at least a little happy again."
Monica smiled at the sweet gesture. She wasn't sure that Pete was what she wanted, but she had to admire his tenacity. Pete took the smile as a good sign, and took Monica's hand. He knew that she was in a fragile state, but he made a vow to himself, and to Chandler, that he would do whatever it took to make her happy.
***
"So, Monica I was thinking that we should start thinking about children soon. I know, I know, it's the last thing you were expecting from me, but come on, we've been married for what, 3 years? I think it's time we think about stuff like that."
Chandler stared at the blank wall, and continued the one-sided conversation.
"Well, I mean, we can start tonight. Everyone else is gonna be gone...whatdyasay?"
Chandler sat in the small, cold room, awaiting an answer that would never come. He spent hours upon hours alone, and had resorted to talking to a Monica that existed in his head alone. All he wanted was to hold her, to touch her, to see her once more. In his head, she looked exactly the same as she did the day he left her. In his mind, she was his forever, and no amount of torture, beating and imprisonment could take that away. She was his forever.
His fantasy was interrupted by the sounds of gunfire coming from outside. Chandler pulled himself into the corner of his room, and hugged his knees. He wondered what was going on, and whether he would make it through the night alive. The gunshots grew louder, and a set of rapid-fire was followed by a loud explosion. The room around Chandler shook, and the walls began to crumble. Chandler covered his head with his arms, and curled further into the corner.
Suddenly, and without warning, the walls crumbled, and everything went black.
***
"You guys have only been dating, like a month!" Ross protested loudly.
"It's not like we are total strangers," Monica said calmly. She had just informed her friends that she and Pete would be getting married in Las Vegas in one week, and that they were all invited.
"Well, I think it's great, Mon," Rachel said, trying desperately to be encouraging.
"Thank you, Rachel," Monica said, and sat back and watched, amused, as Rachel and Ross proceeded to argue over what was best for Monica. She sighed heavily. Pete's proposal was out of the blue, and Monica surprised even herself by accepting the proposal. Eloping in Vegas was her idea. She had spent a year planning an elaborate wedding after Chandler had proposed, and she knew that she just could not do that again. She looked at the large diamond ring that sat on her finger. It was beautiful, but in Monica's mind it was nowhere near as beautiful as the one that Chandler had given her. She remembered the day that she had taken off Chandler's ring. She had cried for hours, knowing that it was one of the final steps toward the closure that her therapist had insisted that she'd needed.
Her visit to her therapist has since been cut from three times a week to once a month. She smiled, when she thought about how her therapist was going to reel at the news that she was getting married. She certainly hoped that Chandler would have approved. Monica sighed. She knew that she had to move on, and that marrying Pete was a step toward that. But her heart belonged to Chandler, and it always would. She often woke up in the middle of the night, convinced that she could hear his voice. Pete was always very understanding, but she never told him much about her nightmares, nor did she tell him just how much she still thought about Chandler. She would sometimes find herself talking to him, half-expecting an answer. Did that mean she was crazy? Maybe. But she didn't care. Holding onto her memories, was all she had of Chandler.
And in her heart, she would never let them, or him, go.
